Drifting of a Genetic Switch Involved in Key Developmental Decisions Underlies Aging Across Human Tissues.
Event Details
- Type
- Center for Studies in Physics and Biology Seminars
- Speaker(s)
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Hao Li, Ph.D., professor, University of California, San Francisco
- Speaker bio(s)
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Aging is often regarded as the last chapter of development, and growing evidence suggests that the two are mechanistically linked. Here I describe the identification of a genetic switch that links development to aging across human tissues. Using a human fibroblast replicative aging model and systematic perturbation analysis, we identified a genetic switch involving EGR1 and EZH2 as opposing regulatory nodes. We provide evidence that this switch is widely used in different tissues/organs to choose between proliferative and non-proliferative but functionally specialized states during development and tissue regeneration. During aging, this switch becomes ambiguous and cells drift away from the initial state established in youth. Since genetic switches are widely used in development to establish and reinforce cellular identity, we propose that attenuation of developmental switches may underlie aging across diverse organs and tissues, and partially accounts for the erosion of the epigenetic landscape and the loss of cellular identity.
- Open to
- Public
- Reception
- Refreshments, 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Lower Level Greenberg Building (CRC)
- Phone
- (212) 327-8636
- Sponsor
-
Melanie Lee
(212) 327-8636
leem@rockefeller.edu